Gratitude. Grief. Growth.

Be Nice to Your Wife

I’m not sure what I think about clairvoyance, but here’s a story that points towards yes.

Our coffee date went so well that we decided to go out for dinner a few days later. The plan was that we would meet at The Globe, a downtown Athens bar for grownups, then come up with a plan from there. I love The Globe because they have rocking chairs inside, lots of Scotch, dark leather couches and Irish music, but not too loud. My kind of place.

I got there first. I ordered a drink and claimed one of the rocking chairs in the front window. I was nervous, even though we had already spent hours talking to each other. Richard came down the sidewalk a few minutes later and I remember how he took a deep breath and blew it out just before he reached for the door handle. It made me think that he might be a little nervous, too.

We talked for two hours in those rocking chairs. It was getting towards 7:30 and we still didn’t have a plan for dinner. He had been looking at his watch on and off for the last fifteen minutes. I asked him if he was in a rush to get somewhere. He said, “Well, I need to ask a favor. I’m got to go call my grandmother–my parents usually call her every day, but they’re in Italy and I promised that I would check in on her. She’s 90 and goes to bed early so it will be too late to call her after dinner. I should call her before we go eat.”

This was before we all had phones with us all the time, children. Try to imagine!

I understood perfectly (and he got points for being a kind and conscientious grandson). He told me that he lived in the apartment building right around the corner (I could see it from the window), so we could go one of two ways: he would get me another drink and leave me there at the bar while he went to make the call, or I could come with him and we could go straight to the restaurant after he called his grandmother. Then he said the words every woman loves to hear: “I promise I’m not an ax murderer.” Who can argue with that logic?

It’s a good thing that man was so honorable and trustworthy because I sure as hell made stupid decisions around him. OF COURSE I agreed to go to his apartment. Good grief. Idiot, party of one.

I occupied myself on the couch with his cat, whose name happened to be “Richard Nixon.” He had never given the cat a name, just called it Cat, but one of his liberal friends was cat sitting one time and insisted that the cat have a name so she could love on it and coo to it, so he dubbed her (yes, Nixon was a girl) “Richard Nixon.”

Richard (the fellow, not the cat) called Sadie from the other room. A few minutes later, he came back looking really perplexed. I asked if everything was OK. He shook his head as if he were clearing a cloud and replied, “Huh. She must have had me confused with my cousin because right before we said goodbye, she said, ‘Be nice to your wife.'”

I never got to meet Sadie, but four years later, Richard gave me her ring when he proposed. It was the diamond Jack had given her in 1927. She had worn it for 75 years. It turned out she was right–he was nice to his wife, that day and so many others.

It is REAL talent when you can convey a story that makes you laugh til you wet your panties…..yes the ones in the road! haha and then turn around and share another one that brings tears to your eyes and warmth in your heart! You are the BOMB!!!